Ad agency hit by smash-and-grab burglars

By Mike Morris and John Spink

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta police Thursday were investigating an early morning smash-and-grab at a northwest Atlanta advertising agency, and the firm's owner said that if he had been there when the burglar threw a rock through his front door, it would likely be a death investigation.

Enlarge photo

John Spink, jspink@ajc.com Michael Johnson walks through the broken front door after an early-morning smash-and-grab at his northwest Atlanta advertising agency on Thursday. May 5, 2011.

Related

• Photos: Burglars hit NW Atlanta ad agency
• Database: Search Fulton crimes

More Atlanta/Fulton news »

• Storms possible Thursday night
• Monroe man shot to death
• FBI: 3rd suspect in videotaped gay beating hiding in Pennsylvania
• Reed: Atlanta budget to shrink
• Atlanta/South Fulton
• North Fulton

“He’s lucky I wasn’t here,” Michael Johnson said, referring to the burglar who hurled a rock through the front door of the Groundrush agency in the 1400 block of Northside Drive, an area of northwest Atlanta that is home to numerous recording studios, art supply companies and other creative firms.

“I would have capped him, and then I would have called the cops,” Johnson told the AJC. “We would have been talking about his eulogy at this point.”

Johnson said the only thing taken in the 5 a.m. burglary was a 42-inch flat-screen television that was in the agency’s lobby.

“I guess they didn’t have enough time to grab the DVD player,” he said. “They just wanted the TV.”

He said a computer that was behind the receptionist’s desk was also left untouched.

“The thing that worries me is, we do work late at night, so this is something I’ve got to consider as far as my guys are concerned,” Johnson said. “That’s the thing that really gets to be a little scary.”